Court of Arbitration of Belgium
Encyclopedia
The Constitutional Court of Belgium
(Dutch
: , ) plays a central role within the federal Belgian state. This is a judicial court
founded in 1980. Its jurisdiction
was augmented in 1988 and 2003.
into a federal state. The original name that had been given to the Court already says a lot about its mission, which is to supervise the observance of the constitutional division of powers between the federal state, the communities and the regions.
The Court of Arbitration was officially inaugurated in the Belgian Senate
on 1 October 1984. On 5 April 1985 it delivered its first judgment. In May 2007, upon a change of the Belgian Constitution, the court was renamed Constitutional Court as this name is more in keeping with the actual jurisdiction of the court.
of 2003, this competence was expanded to the Section II (Articles 8 to 32), and the Articles 170, 172 and 191 of the Belgian Constitution. The Court is therefore developing into a constitutional court.
The court has two modi operandi. Each stakeholder can within 6 months of publication of a law, decree or ordinance go to the Court in order to have the law, decree or ordinance annulled because of a breach of the aforementioned Articles of the Belgian Constitution or because of a breach of the division of powers between the federal state, the communities and the regions. When the Court decides to annul a law, decree or ordinance it counts erga omnes, for all persons.
The second modus operandus of the court are the preliminary issues. If a question comes up in a particular tribunal about the correspondence of laws, decrees and ordinances with the rules laying down the division of powers between the State, the communities and the regions or with Articles 8 to 32, 170, 172 or 191 of the Constitution, that tribunal must address a preliminary question to the Constitutional Court as the Court has the exclusive competence of interpreting the Constitution and the competence dividing rules. When the Court finds a breach of these articles, it will pronounce its decision inter partes, meaning the ruling has effect only between the parties of the specific case. Such a judgement, however, has great moral value and will force the parliament which made the targeted law, decree or ordinance in question to amend it.
) within a list of candidates provided by the federal parliament
. The list to fill a vacancy contains two candidates proposed alternately by the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate
by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members present. Each linguistic group is composed of three judges with a legal background and three judges who have had at least five years experience as members of parliament. Candidates must be at least forty years of age. The judges may hold office until they reach seventy years of age, when they retire from the bench.
† denotes that judge served as President of his linguistic group
or ordinance
may be submitted to the Court by the Council of Ministers
, by the Government of a Community or Region of Belgium
, by the Presidents of the Chamber of Representatives, Senate
and the Community and Regional Parliaments, at the request of two-thirds of its members, and by any person who can demonstrate an interest in the cancellation. In other words, the law, decree or ordinance must be harmful to the party submitting the appeal.
Cases before the Constitutional Court are normally heard by a panel consisting of seven judges that decides by majority, this panel always comprises both Presidents, at least three judges from each linguistic group, at least two former members of the Federal Parliament
and at least two judges with a legal background. Cases can also be heard by the whole Court if either President so decides or if at least two judges of the ordinary panel of seven judges so requests. If cases are heard by the whole Court, the Court cannot rule unless at least 10 judges and an equal number of Dutch and French-speaking judges are present. In this case, if the votes are equally divided, the President of the Court has a casting vote
.
The appeal must include the subject of the appeal and must be motivated. The party submitting the appeal can also request that the law, decree or ordinance in question be suspended pending a final ruling by the Court. A law, decree or ordinance can only be suspended when the application of the law, decree or ordinance in question could incur serious, and difficult to repair, harm to the party submitting the appeal.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: , ) plays a central role within the federal Belgian state. This is a judicial court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
founded in 1980. Its jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
was augmented in 1988 and 2003.
History
Originally founded as the Court of Arbitration, the court owes its existence to the development of the Belgian unitary stateUnitary state
A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...
into a federal state. The original name that had been given to the Court already says a lot about its mission, which is to supervise the observance of the constitutional division of powers between the federal state, the communities and the regions.
The Court of Arbitration was officially inaugurated in the Belgian Senate
Belgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...
on 1 October 1984. On 5 April 1985 it delivered its first judgment. In May 2007, upon a change of the Belgian Constitution, the court was renamed Constitutional Court as this name is more in keeping with the actual jurisdiction of the court.
Jurisdiction
Since 1988, the Court is also responsible for supervising the application of some particular articles of the Belgian constitution such as the principles of equality, non-discrimination and the rights and liberties in respect of education (the Articles 10, 11 and 24 of the Belgian constitution). With a special lawSpecial law
A special law or qualified majority law is a type of legislation in Belgium which requires a qualified majority in both chambers of the bicameral Belgian Federal Parliament to be adopted, amended or repealed. The Belgian Constitution determines which laws require a qualified or special majority...
of 2003, this competence was expanded to the Section II (Articles 8 to 32), and the Articles 170, 172 and 191 of the Belgian Constitution. The Court is therefore developing into a constitutional court.
The court has two modi operandi. Each stakeholder can within 6 months of publication of a law, decree or ordinance go to the Court in order to have the law, decree or ordinance annulled because of a breach of the aforementioned Articles of the Belgian Constitution or because of a breach of the division of powers between the federal state, the communities and the regions. When the Court decides to annul a law, decree or ordinance it counts erga omnes, for all persons.
The second modus operandus of the court are the preliminary issues. If a question comes up in a particular tribunal about the correspondence of laws, decrees and ordinances with the rules laying down the division of powers between the State, the communities and the regions or with Articles 8 to 32, 170, 172 or 191 of the Constitution, that tribunal must address a preliminary question to the Constitutional Court as the Court has the exclusive competence of interpreting the Constitution and the competence dividing rules. When the Court finds a breach of these articles, it will pronounce its decision inter partes, meaning the ruling has effect only between the parties of the specific case. Such a judgement, however, has great moral value and will force the parliament which made the targeted law, decree or ordinance in question to amend it.
Judges
The Court is composed of 12 judges (2 linguistic groups of which 6 Dutch and 6 French speakers, one of them must have an adequate knowledge of German) appointed for their lifetime by the King (in practice, the federal governmentBelgian federal government
The Cabinet of Belgium is the executive branch of the Belgian federal government, consisting of ministers and secretaries of state drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. Formally, the ministers are appointed by the King...
) within a list of candidates provided by the federal parliament
Belgian Federal Parliament
The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate . It sits in the Palace of the Nation .- Chamber of Representatives :...
. The list to fill a vacancy contains two candidates proposed alternately by the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate
Belgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...
by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members present. Each linguistic group is composed of three judges with a legal background and three judges who have had at least five years experience as members of parliament. Candidates must be at least forty years of age. The judges may hold office until they reach seventy years of age, when they retire from the bench.
Composition
The Court is currently composed as follows:| French linguistic group: | Dutch linguistic group: |
|
Baron Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"... Marc Bossuyt Marc Bossuyt Baron Marc Bossuyt obtained a Ph.D in Law at the University of Ghent in 1968 and a Certificate of international relations at Johns Hopkins University in Bologna in 1969... , President |
Judges' background
- Alen (b. 1950) is a law professor and a former chief of staff to the Prime Minister
- Bossuyt (b. 1944) is a law professor and a member of the Permanent Court of ArbitrationPermanent Court of ArbitrationThe Permanent Court of Arbitration , is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands.-History:The court was established in 1899 as one of the acts of the first Hague Peace Conference, which makes it the oldest institution for international dispute resolution.The creation of...
- Daout (b. 1951) is a former judge at the Council of State
- De Groot (b. 1948) is a former Member of Parliament
- Derycke (b. 1949) is a former minister of foreign affairs
- Henneuse (b. 1943) is a former senator
- Lavryssen (b. 1956) is a law professor and former judge at the Council of StateCouncil of State (Belgium)Council of State , in Belgium, is an organ of the Belgian government: it is the Supreme Administrative Court of Belgium. Its functions include assisting the executive with legal advice and being the supreme court for administrative justice...
- Melchior (b. 1940) is a law professor. He's a former President of the French linguistic group on the Court.
- Merckx (b. 1951) is a former Member of the Flemish Parliament
- Moerman (b. 1952) is a former Member of Parliament
- Nihoul (b. 1961) is a former judge at the Council of State
- Snappe (b. 1951) is a former member of Parliament and senator
- Spreutels (b. 1951) is a former advocate-general at the Court of CassationCourt of Cassation (Belgium)The Court of Cassation is the main court of last resort in Belgium.It was originally modelled after the French Cour de cassation. Its jurisdiction and powers are similar to those of its French counterpart....
Former Judges
| French linguistic group: | Dutch linguistic group: |
|
|
† denotes that judge served as President of his linguistic group
Procedure
An appeal to cancel a law, decreeDecree (Belgium)
For other uses of the term decree, see: Decree.Decree in Belgium refers to legislation passed by community or regional parliaments, except by the Brussels Parliament...
or ordinance
Ordinance (Belgium)
For other uses of the term ordinance, see: Ordinance.Ordinance in Belgium refers to legislation passed by the Brussels Parliament in exercise of its regional competences and by the United Assembly of the Common Community Commission...
may be submitted to the Court by the Council of Ministers
Belgian federal government
The Cabinet of Belgium is the executive branch of the Belgian federal government, consisting of ministers and secretaries of state drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. Formally, the ministers are appointed by the King...
, by the Government of a Community or Region of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, by the Presidents of the Chamber of Representatives, Senate
Belgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...
and the Community and Regional Parliaments, at the request of two-thirds of its members, and by any person who can demonstrate an interest in the cancellation. In other words, the law, decree or ordinance must be harmful to the party submitting the appeal.
Cases before the Constitutional Court are normally heard by a panel consisting of seven judges that decides by majority, this panel always comprises both Presidents, at least three judges from each linguistic group, at least two former members of the Federal Parliament
Belgian Federal Parliament
The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate . It sits in the Palace of the Nation .- Chamber of Representatives :...
and at least two judges with a legal background. Cases can also be heard by the whole Court if either President so decides or if at least two judges of the ordinary panel of seven judges so requests. If cases are heard by the whole Court, the Court cannot rule unless at least 10 judges and an equal number of Dutch and French-speaking judges are present. In this case, if the votes are equally divided, the President of the Court has a casting vote
Casting vote
A casting vote is a vote given to the presiding officer of a council or legislative body to resolve a deadlock and which can be exercised only when such a deadlock exists...
.
The appeal must include the subject of the appeal and must be motivated. The party submitting the appeal can also request that the law, decree or ordinance in question be suspended pending a final ruling by the Court. A law, decree or ordinance can only be suspended when the application of the law, decree or ordinance in question could incur serious, and difficult to repair, harm to the party submitting the appeal.
See also
- Communities, regions and provinces of BelgiumCommunities, regions and provinces of BelgiumBelgium is a federal state comprising three communities, three regions, and four language areas. For each of these subdivision types, the sum of their circumscribed surfaces composes the entire country; in other words, the types overlap....
- JudiciaryJudiciaryThe judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
- Politics of BelgiumPolitics of BelgiumPolitics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by...
- Rule According to Higher LawRule according to higher lawThe rule according to a higher law means that no written law may be enforced by the government unless it conforms with certain unwritten, universal principles of fairness, morality, and justice...
- Rule of lawRule of lawThe rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...